Hey did you hear something?

I'm working on a few VC/NVA bunkers for Vietnam wargaming. Too Fat Lardies are getting ready to release their Vietnam game "Charlie Don't Surf". So I figured I dust off the Nam figs and get ready for a Rumble in the Jungle!

Here is the first bunker built and ready to start painting.

The return of “Schwarzadler” Big Game!

On the 24th we ran a multi-player big game event partly to welcome home Schwarzadler who’s been away at college.

We ended up with a 12-player game set on the east front. There were 4 Soviet Tankovy and two Strelkovy Battalions on one side facing off against 1 Grenadier, 3 Panzer, and 2 Panzergrenadier Kompanies. With a grand total of 19,000 points participating in the grand event.

The Game was a special scenario cooked up by Joedog. It was played on two 8x4 tables set up in an ‘L’ configuration. Each side would be required to attack and defend depending on their placement on the table.







This was a Soviet relief operation the Germans had just cut off a Strelkovy Battalion who are dug in on the far end of the ‘L’ in a defensive pocket. The Soviet forces are trying to divert the German attack and take the pressure off of the cut off Battalion.

We had some very unique special rules for Battalion commanders and an attached Battalion staff team that allowed off board artillery and pre-designated artillery targets.

We limited each game turn to a strict 45-minutes. We have found that previous big games that the game turns tend to drag out if not timed. The time limit worked fantastically; I think we only went over time twice due to multiple assaults.

The winner would be determined by which side holds the most objectives at the end of the game.

It was a hard fought battle with the soviets pulling a 4-3 victory in the final turn of the game. They were holding 3 of the sixes objectives with the Germans holding 2 and contesting one in the pocket.




Schmidt leads the way!


A tense moment as Soviet air fails to range in on the worried Panzers.




The Soviets mob forward!


Schmidt charging into a hail of HMG fire!


A Strelkovy double time to gain some ground….


…and pay for it as some German armored cars MG the heck out of them.




T-60’s breaking ranks.


Lots of Soviet armor, just look at all of the KV’s!


The T-60’s rush the first objective.


The view from the Second German objective to the first; the first objective is the crossroad where all of the armor is centralized.


The T-60’s after the Pz IV’s are done with them.


Soviets take the first objective!


SS Panzergrenadiers rush to assault the Soviet pocket!


SS PanzerPioneers assaulting the gun pits in an attempt to take an objective.


In the end the Germans could only contest the objective.

The slow death of FOW in the Bay Area

It seems that locally here in the San Francisco Bay Area FOW is slowly grinding to a halt. This vexes me greatly because I really like the game. It started around the time of the release of the second edition of the rules and has been spiraling since Battlefront has moved on to the late war period.

This has been compounded by the changes in Battlefronts ordering and shipping policies to the retailers. What also did not help is Battlefronts slow re-release schedule for essential late war models.

So I guess the honeymoon is over, but has the bubble burst? Lets look at the good and the bad.

Good
The changes to rules brought along by second edition make the game better in general.

The army lists as always are quite good.

The miniatures are still some of the best 15's on the market.

Battlefront venturing into some plastic parts for some of the kits has a lot of potential.

Bad
Glaring errors in some of the Intel Handbooks.

Slow release schedule; I mean snails move faster. (although other manufacturers make all if the models needed for WWII)

Poor relations with retailers. Even though this isn't directly my problem, so really doesn't count for much.

The results for me at least is the good outweighs the bad. FOW after all is said and done a fun wargame.

So I will plug along and promote playing FOW anywhere to anyone that I can. Hopefully I can help reinvigorate interest in the game.

Open for buisiness!

This blog will chronicle my progress on all of my various Historical wargaming projects. Anything from Ancient Egypt to the late Twentieth century.

Currently I'm finishing up a WWII German army for Flames of War. Once complete I will start to work on a WWII US Parachute rifle company.

Here is my latest finished stuff for my Germans. They the assault guns for my recon company.